Greetings from Comerica, where the Os are hoping to even the series against David Price and the Tigers….

*Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman will start Wednesday’s game in New York, as expected, as Baltimore keeps him on a five-man rotation schedule.

The decision, while widely speculated, also brings about another roster crunch for the O’s to recall him. Baltimore still has a wealth of outfielders and —assuming there are no injuries over the next few days— it could be a situation similar to Delmon Young, who was designated and then released.

“Very similar,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Right now on the surface it’d be a positional player [to go for Gausman] but some things can happen between now and then. But right now it’s the game tonight and where all that fits and whatever is kind of up to [EVP] Dan [Duquette]. I’m sure he’s got some things that he’s considering.”

Gausman was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to stay on a regular schedule during the All-Star Break and, assuming he keeps the team in most games, will remain up with the O’s. He will be followed by Ubaldo Jimenez, who will start Thursday’s series finale.

*With the outfield/first base crunch noted above, the Orioles had hoped that left field would have been a little more stable by mid-July.

“We thought a couple guys were getting ready to take off with it and we hit some rough patches,” Showalter said. “Wou are always trying to keep everyone in play mode, but I was hoping at this point we were a little more in ‘set mode’. But it hasn’t worked out that way.”

Meanwhile, outfielder Dariel Alvarez continues to be an intriguing option at Triple-A. Alvarez is batting .283 with a .306 on-base percentage. He does have 43 strikeouts against just seven walks, however.

Showalter said he’s not looking for help outside of the current roster right now.

“First we’re talking about having to make a move for a position player for Wednesday. It’s not like these guys haven’t been good in given periods, we just haven’t really had that consistency out of that [left field] spot we had hoped to have,” he said. “But Dariel’s having a good year, learning things every day, still has got some hiccups here and there, like we all do. But I’m glad he’s one of us.”

“I wouldn’t call him anything. If we need to put a brand on it..he is [the right fielder] tonight. It’s kind of who we are,” Showalter said. “It just tells you how valuable he is and it makes people, not only us but in baseball, aware of how versatile and valuable he is.”

Davis has been solid defensively in right field and Showalter’s statement seems to imply that the O’s are —at the very least— entertaining the idea of shopping him. Baltimore has mostly used Chris Parmelee at first base since the move, though Steve Pearce got the start there on Saturday.

“I’m sure at some point before the year is over [Davis will play first base],” Showalter said. “He’s playing a really good right field for us. I think he’s as good of a right fielder as he is a first baseman. He can play both of them well.”

Greetings from Comerica Park, where the Orioles will open the second half with a three-city road trip that starts with three games in Detroit. The O’s are 44-44 and are four games out of the AL East to start the day. You can read my recap of the first half -along with some second-half storylines- here.

The buzz in the clubhouse today was surrounding the four All-Stars who returned: Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Darren O’Day. You can read more about their time in Cincy here. I also spoke with each guy in the clubhouse about what moment(s) stood out to them most and the overwhelming response was the relationships with other players. Machado referenced talking to guys like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder at the Home Run Derby, Britton mentioned making friends with Toronto’s Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson. It’s funny how once you put a big group of baseball players together, regardless of their team, there’s almost an immediate bond there. O’Day also spoke of the relationships formed and the conversations with players around the League and said it’s an experience he’d take with him the rest of his life.

In Draft news, Orioles second-round pick Jonathan Hughes has declared his intent to attend Georgia Tech rather than turn pro and you can read more on that here.

There’s also a fun color piece up on O’s reliever Chaz Roe and why he should be your favorite pitcher. You can read that here.

Greetings from Camden Yards, where the Orioles will close the first half with the series finale against the Nationals. Chris Davis, who was a late scratch with a stomach bug on Saturday night, is back in the lineup for the rubber match.

As a reminder, the O’s will have pitching prospect Zach Davies in this afternoon’s Futures Game as part of Team USA. MLB.com will have exclusive coverage of the game in Cincinnati. It can be seen live on MLB Network and MLB.com and can be followed live on MLB.com’s Gameday. You can also check Orioles.com later for an O’s specific story on Davies.

You can also check Orioles.com throughout the All-Star Break for exclusive on-site coverage of the O’s four All-Stars in Tuesday’s game as well as Manny Machado’s performance in Monday’s Home Run Derby. MLB.com has a great team of beat reporters, national reporters and columnists already there who are on hand to capture all of the best moments, and there will be plenty of Oriole-specific coverage on Orioles.com.

I’ll also have a midterm report mid-week with a recap of the first half and a lookahead to the second half of the season which should (hopefully) be enough to satisfy your baseball fix until I land in Detroit Friday morning. The blog and endless stream of Twitter updates, that will go on through today’s game, will also pick back up when I land in Detroit.

BALTIMORE— The Orioles have set their second-half rotation with Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez starting the team’s three-game series in Detroit.

Following an off day, Wei-Yin Chen will get the ball for the series opener in New York on July 21.

“It fit the best for the needs of our guys and where it fits best for the rest of the month,” manager Buck Showalter said of what went into the decision.

Kevin Gausman, who will start twice for Triple-A Norfolk, is expected to be added to the roster and pitch the fifth game after the All-Star Break, though Showalter wouldn’t commit either way on Saturday.

“We have some options there [with the off day],” Showalter said. “We have it mapped out through the rest of the month if everything stays.”

Greetings from Camden Yards, where the O’s are coming off a road trip in which they lost five of six games split between Chicago and Minnesota. Not much pregame news today, but the team does plan on tweaking the rotation order for the second half.

Kevin Gausman, who was optioned to stay on turn, will throw Sunday and Friday in the Minor Leagues before re-joining the O’s and pitching the fifth game after the All-Star Break. The rest of the order we should have in the next day or so.

BALTIMORE— Manny Machado isn’t worried about the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders messing up his second-half swing. As the 23-year-old said Friday he’s just participating to live out a lifelong dream.

“I’m not going to go out there and blow out my back, try to overdo it. I’m just going to try to put some good swings out there and put on a show,” said Machado, who watched the Derby as a every year growing up. “I’m just going to try to hit the ball hard somewhere and if they go out, they go out. If they don’t, I guess I will be the one without homers there. Just go out there and have fun, I don’t think you have to go out there and try to win the thing. Just go out and have fun.”

Machado entered Friday with a career-high 19 homers and 48 RBIs and a .301 batting average out of the leadoff spot. O’s manager Buck Showalter said he’s not planning on moving Machado don in the order anytime soon and also isn’t concerned about his participation in the Derby.

“I’m not one of those guys that thinks the Home Run Derby [messes with guys swings], I’m sure you could find something statistically,” Showalter said. “It’s something that Manny has earned and I don’t want to take it away from him. It’s great for him and his family. If something like that is going to happen, it’s not meant to be anyway. We are not very strong mechanically if something like that will get in the way.”

Machado is one of four All-Stars for the Orioles this season— along with Adam Jones, Darren O’Day and Zach Britton—and has picked assistant hitting coach Einar Diaz to throw his batting practice.

“He’s always thrown to me for the last couple years and we have a chance of doing some good things out there,” Machado said.

The game is one of baseball’s most iconic moments as Ripken Ripken passed New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig on September 6, 1995.

Ripken will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Orioles-Rays game that night as one of many celebrations. Starting Thursday, the Orioles are holding a special 2131 sweepstakes, in which fans are encouraged to submit their photos from the historic record-breaking game, record-tying game, other Streak Week games or activities, or any photos taken with Ripken on Twitter or Instagram using #My2131. The Orioles will select one fan to receive four tickets to the September 1 game along with a pre-game, on-field experience and an autographed copy of the Cal Ripken, Jr. authentic retirement commemorative program.

Additionally, the 2,131st person to check-in using the MLB Ballpark app the weekend of July 10-12 when the Orioles host the Washington Nationals, will win four tickets to the game on September 1 and a Cal Ripken, Jr. autographed commemorative item.

BALTIMORE— Baltimore will get a starter in this year’s All-Star Game after all.

Orioles centerfielder Adam Jones will take the place of Kansas City’s Alex Gordon, who suffered a groin injury and will be unable to play. Jones, originally named as one of the American League reserves, received the highest number of votes from player balloting and is a five-time All-Star.

This will be Jones’ third consecutive All-Star start.

“I’m truly humbled that the players selected me,” Jones said following Monday’s announcement. “I think it’s humbling because I just go out and play every day. I don’t play for accolades except the [World Series] ring and it’s humbling that the players around the league see that I play every day and I play hard every day, and they see what I mean to this team and what the team means to me … I just do it for my teammates and the name across my chest so it’s humbling that the players around the league they see that.”

Jones is one of four All-Stars for the Orioles, who also have Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Darren O’Day.

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